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The Cessna Aircraft Company, owned by Textron Inc is celebrating today after the first deliveries and FAA type certification of the Citation M2 jet is achieved. Announced in September 2011 and the prototype first flown in March 2012, the development and certification process has involved over 150,000 hours in addition to almost 1,000 test flight hours over 360,00 nautical miles.

Cessna’s senior vice-president of business jets, Mr Brad Thress said, “Cessna is once more redefining the light jet segment with the Citation M2. We’re proud to get the M2 into the marketplace and see the aircraft begin to set the standard for the next generation of business aviation.”

The beautiful jet is certified for single-pilot operation and has a flight capacity of 1,300 nautical miles at a cruise speed of 460 miles per hour. With an operational ability to work on short runways and able to climb to 41,000 ft in 24 minutes, the Citation M2 is flexible and efficient, featuring two Williams FJ44 engines.

“The Citation M2 is a versatile aircraft that fits many markets and missions, attracting owner-operators looking for an advanced, innovative aircraft of this size, capability, and value. Our launch customer, Stuart Woods, represents this type of customer: owners moving up from their Citation Mustang. Further, many new M2 owners are upgrading from a turboprop, while still others are moving laterally to a newer, same-size business jet. With its single-pilot certification, the Citation M2 has room for six passengers and is faster than many comparable aircraft, making it a strong performer in this segment,” continued Mr Thress.

The Citation M2 certainly has style and this continues into the cockpit and the roomy cabin, with Garmin 3000 avionics, high-resolution displays and touch-screen interactivity.

The six-passenger capacity cabin has eight large windows and adjustable seats and provides an aisle height of 57 inches.

Confusion in Delhi as Passengers Delayed by Bad Weather

December 19, 2013

Weather issues in aviation can cause disruption on many levels, which is why critical messaging is high on the list of operational priorities for most airlines.

Although not all airlines seem to handle these adverse conditions too well, as was apparent in Delhi over the last few days. Passengers were left stranded, some since Tuesday evening with little or no information, food or indeed luggage, as flights were delayed and cancelled due to foggy conditions.

There were closed desks and mobbed airline staff as the situation reached fever pitch with some passengers left standing on tarmac for more than an hour.

Traveller Annamma Sam George, who had lost her baggage enroute from America earlier in the week said, “I will never come to Delhi again in the winter. The airport authorities are probably too busy handling the cancelled and delayed flights, but my valuables are in the bag and I’m running out of cash.”

The T3 visitors lounge was packed with anxious, stranded passengers simply left with nothing.

Nothing can be done about the weather – that much is clear – but with advanced messaging solutions within aviation, there is certainly room for improvement upon passenger services and facilities in adverse conditions and situations.

Concerns Raised with EU Block on Passenger Data

December 19, 2013

Concerns are growing for security chiefs about the increasing risk of potential terrorists being allowed to travel freely around Europe after the release and use of passenger data was blocked on human rights grounds earlier this year.

Cressida Dick, Assistant Commissioner of the Met expressed a warning that young men are able to fly to Turkey, hire a car and drive across the border into Syria. Her concern is that a ‘small number could fall under the spell of terrorists and return to Britain with deadly skills and motivation’.

Passenger data has been effectively used to identify potential high-risk passengers, alerting government agencies and border control before those passengers touch down at their destination. Supporters of the share of this data, referred to as Advanced Passenger Information (API) say that the information is critical to help track terrorists, people traffickers and serious criminals that regularly traverse international borders.

The system was developed after the terror attacks of 9/11 and is mandatory for passengers travelling to and within the U.S. and other parts of the world.

API is delivered electronically via the DCS of airlines. Providers maintain reliable, secure delivery and limited access to the information.

The Civil Liberties Committee of the EP claim that the passenger data storage system raises privacy concerns and critics are unhappy about the data being kept for five years, which could lead to passenger profiling.

As the EU Counter-Terrorism Coordinator points out that the numbers of fighters travelling to Syria is increasing, it has made a call to put airline passenger information availability back into practice, giving security officials the ability to track the movements of particular groups across Europe.

The head of MI5, Mr Andrew Parker, revealed that spies had observed ‘hundreds of people’ travel to Syria and added that some had indeed returned to the UK.

It is unclear how, when or even if, the use of passenger data may return to the forefront of aviation travel in Europe.

Delta Airlines Say ‘No’ to In-Flight Voice Calls

December 18, 2013

Atlanta-based Delta Airlines have announced that they will not allow in-flight voice calls on their flights ahead of the impending final ‘vote’ by the FAA to lift the ban on cell phone usage.

In an internal memo, Richard Anderson, CEO of Delta said, ‘Last week the U.S. Federal Communications Commission voted to seek public comment in consideration of lifting its ban on in-flight cell phone use. Delta will not allow cellular calls or internet-based voice communications onboard Delta or Delta Connection flights.

Our customer research and direct feedback tell us that our frequent flyers believe voice calls in the cabin would be a disruption to the travel experience. In fact, a clear majority of customers who responded to a 2012 survey said they felt the ability to make voice calls onboard would detract from – not enhance – their experience. Delta employees, particularly our in-flight crews, have told us definitively that they are not in favour of voice calls onboard.

Delta has moved quickly when technological and regulatory breakthroughs provide opportunities to make flying better for our customers. That is why we were the first to file our plan with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to allow customers to use portable electronic devices below 10,000 feet. Similarly, if the FCC lifts its ban on cellular use in flight, Delta will move quickly to enable customers to use text, email and other silent data transmission services gate to gate.’

Since no decision has yet been reached on the proposed lift, it is still unclear whether passengers may yet be chatting about their journeys using in-flight voice calls – certainly, Mr Anderson has made Delta’s position clear on the subject.

Today, however, there is an ever-growing demand for cell phone use in-flight. Business aviation in particular experience high levels of expectation from their executive passengers as they operate the office-in-the-sky.

Industry-leaders, such as ARINC, offer high-speed passenger connectivity for emails and broadband, as an understanding within the industry realises the need to enhance cabin services, therefore increasing competition and allowing airlines to stay ahead of the game.

Many critics say that there is no real need for in-flight voice calls, with the level of connectivity now available in the cabin. It remains to be seen whether the ban will be lifted and it seems that opinion is divided. Maybe we will see ‘voice-call-seats’ or areas of the plane that will be designated ‘non-voice-call’ to be booked in advance like the years-old ‘non-smoking’ seats – the jury is still out on this moot point.

UK Border Force Upgrade eBorders & ePassport Facilities

December 18, 2013

It has been announced that the UK Border Force have awarded a contract for the upgrade and installation of electronic borders solution – eGates – to Portugese company, Vision-Box. Vision-Box have previously installed 46 first generation eGates and will now deploy a further possible 180 new, second generation gates at airports across the country.

The second generation eGates are designed to make the most of limited space in today’s airports and in particular, immigration halls. The project will help to further enhance and streamline passenger processing, improving passenger experience and effectively increasing security aspects.

Gatwick airport is the first to announce completion of the installation of 15 new generation eGates.

Haroona Franklin, Director of Border Systems Strategy & Capability said that “this deployment will represent the biggest ePassport Gate project in Europe. The new gates will allow Border Force to improve the passenger experience while maintaining security at the border and enabling the effective deployment of our resources to areas of highest priority”

Electronic border technology is a fast-growing industry that maintains critical border security while enhancing and streamlining the process to provide greater productivity, improved efficiency and passenger experience.

Satcom Direct Brings VHF Coverage to Farnborough for Aircraft Datalink

VHF coverage is now extended with a combined effort from Satcom Direct, TAG Farnborough Airport and SITA, who have based their new VHF ground station equipment in Hangar 2.

The new equipment and subsequent VHF coverage will enable the airport to provide enhanced services to operators and aircraft owners with the addition of the aircraft datalink services.

CPDLC is a growing requirement in the aviation industry, with mandatory regulations for Europe coming into play at the end of this year and the beginning of next year. Although business and private jets are exempt from the ruling, it is only a matter of time.

CPDLC (Controller Pilot Data Link Communications) give greater flexibility in the cockpit and on the ground and eliminate many previous problems that are encountered during communications. The mandates will open up better opportunities for flight operations as the airwaves become less congested. Streamlining communications with aircraft datalink is not only more efficient, but also globally recognised, without interruption, given provision from a reliable and reputable supplier.

Companies such as SITA and ARINC have global ground stations to aid the facilitation of aircraft datalink messaging.

U.S. Aviation Operational Costs Outperform Europe, Say EUROCONTROL

According to reports issued by EUROCONTROL, the U.S. is outperforming Europe in terms of aviation operational costs. The Performance Review Commission (PRC) issued two reports and notes that while the two ATM systems show similarities in size and traffic density area, they differ wildly in terms of organisational aspects and regulatory operational variance.

The report regarding air navigation services showed that, when taking a look at the cost-per-flight-per-hour, the U.S. costs are 34% lower than those of Europe.

The cause can be largely attributed to the difference in funding. European ANSPs are funded by route and terminal charges, when the FAA relies upon the airport and airways trust fund in addition to congressional appropriations.

Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs) in Europe number 37, which oversee 63 area control centres and 260 approach control units. The U.S. has only one – the FAA’s Air Traffic Organisation, which oversee 20 air route traffic control centres and 162 terminal radar approach control centres.

The report “confirms that the observed gap in cost-efficiency performance arises from considerably higher productivity and lower support costs in the U.S. compared to Europe,” the PRC states. “Air traffic controllers in the U.S. have higher annual working hours and more flexible working arrangements, which allow the U.S. ATO to accommodate changes in demand more easily than European ANSPs.”

Aviation operational costs cover a wide and far-reaching topic, from ANSPs to the individual airport environment. In a global economically challenging era, it has never been more important to continue operational productivity in order to keep the wheels of business turning, but to ensure that costs are kept to a mangeable level. Global companies, such as ARINC, offer products and services operating within a web-based environment that can allow seamless reliability, but with a cost-efficient, integrated framework with cost-sharing capabilities.

Navtech Flight Plan Growing in Popularity

Canadian flight operations software and services company, Navtech Inc are experiencing success with their Navtech Flight Plan (NFP) product this year.

Flight planning tools and support services are critical to today’s’ airways, providing operational productivity, flexibility and solutions to the ever-growing demand for cost optimization.

As the flight deck boldly strides towards a paperless environment and so does the flight bag, the need for flight planning tools to be seamlessly reliable is also an issue for operators.

Navtech Flight Plan is amongst the most popular choices for flight planning services for commercial airlines and brings complete control to the management of mission critical resources and messaging solutions.

Business aviation leaders, ARINC Direct, offer comprehensive flight planning tools and services for executive jet aircraft operations and rely upon a unique partnership with Iridium and Inmarsat satellite networks to furnish the sector with seamless connectivity on a global scale.

As business passengers are searching for new business in every corner of the globe, it is becoming necessary for flights to achieve further-reaching capacity than ever before.

Flight planning, flight support and passenger communications are swiftly becoming on par with flight deck communications for importance in business aviation as passengers want to travel further, in comfort and with all the necessary communications in place to continue with business as usual.

Private Jet Growth as Businesses Fly Further